This is the first episode of 2015 and Dr. Michael Belich has graced us with this interview wherein he shares his takeaways from his recently attended event called Exponential Medicine held in San Diego last November 9-12, 2014 at The Hotel Del Coronado.

The Exponential Medicine event was basically a gathering of thought leaders in the field of science and technology and various organizations from across the globe whose vision and mission is to change our perception of technology and medicine and how we can utilize these technological innovations as an opportunity to improve one’s healthcare, wellness and quality of life.

Thank you for listening. We would appreciate your comments and reviews

The Resources

The Onwards Medical Breakthrough

“Researchers from the UNC School of Medicine have discovered that cells called fibroblasts, which normally give rise to scar tissue after a heart attack, can be turned into endothelial cells, which generate blood vessels to supply oxygen and nutrients to the injured regions of the heart, thus greatly reducing the damage done following heart attack.”

“This switch is driven by p53, the well-documented tumor-suppressing protein. The UNC researchers showed that increasing the level of p53 in scar-forming cells significantly reduced scarring and improved heart function after heart attack.”

Jason Jordan is currently living in Germany where he and his wife are teachers in the Department of Defense School. In this episode, Jason shares the health challenges that his wife had faced during their first 2 years of living in Germany. Find out how their US provided private health insurance became the key for them to be able to get the healthcare they need for his wife.

Thank you for listening. We would appreciate your comments and reviews

The Resources

The Onwards Medical Breakthrough

With new spinal cord stimulator, Army veteran is finally free of pain

“Three months ago the 49-year-old Lansing, Ka., man couldn’t do much of anything without wincing in pain. His lower back hurt too much. He tried massages, chiropractic and steroid injections. He popped pain pills like Tic Tacs.”

“Nothing worked. Then, in August, surgeons implanted a spinal cord stimulator near his left hip. The pocket-watch-sized device interruptspain signals on their way to the brain.”

“It did the job. So much so that Hoffman decided to play indoor kickball with his church’s youth group, for which he serves as a mentor. Everything went great, until a thrown ball tripped him up and sent him sprawling to the ground and into a wall.”

Chien-Wei Tan is the Director of Ulink Assist based in Singapore which has been established and founded by his parents in 1996. Their experience in providing medical assistance has been one of the many reasons why patients from different neighboring countries have sought for their services during the past several years. With the thousands of patients they serve every year, patients are assured that their well-being are prioritized and any uncertainties in traveling are being removed. Find out how this experienced independent assistance provider is able to attend to every patients need they serve with their high quality service.

Thank you for listening. We would appreciate your comments and reviews

Antony DeSousa is the Founder and CEO of Dental Destinations Cancun which is also an affiliate of Dentaris located in Cancun, Mexico. Cancun has been known as a beautiful destination for vacation and travel and is also known to offer not only quality medical treatments but dental treatments as well at a very affordable price. Because of their passion in providing quality dental treatment, Antony and his team of experienced dental experts have significantly changed the lives of their patients and have helped them gain their confidence back through their wonderful smiles.

Thank you for listening. We would appreciate your comments and reviews

Abbi and Mark MacDonald are the founders of Venice Nutrition and Mark is also the author of the New York Time Best Selling book, Body Confidence. In this episode, they share the health challenges Abbi faced because of the autoimmune disease, fibromyalgia and how she overcame her symptoms using a combination of diet, scheduled sleep schedules and exercise. This is an incredibly inspiring story of a person who was told by many Doctors that she had no hope for a normal life and she refused to accept that.

Thank you for listening. We would appreciate your comments and reviews

The Resources

The Onwards Medical Breakthrough

“Since stem cells were first hailed as a potential cure for a variety of diseases, we have witnessed setbacks, controversies, and failures. Now, however, human trials for the use of stem cells in treating degenerative eye disease have received the green light from an oversight committee in Japan after they agreed that the proposed treatment is safe.”

Servando Acuña is the President of Medical Tourism Association – Cancun. It was formed under ethical principles that basically helps create awareness to patients on the best available healthcare services in Mexico. They represent a group of healthcare institutions that aims to provide quality and certified care at an affordable cost.

Thank you for listening. We would appreciate your comments and reviews

The Resources

The Onwards Medical Breakthrough

Miracle Powder Regrows Fingers, Now Thigh Muscle for Marine

“It was only a year ago that ACell’s “miracle powder” was sprinkled on amputated fingers and shown to stimulate the regeneration of fingertips. The world was both awed and skeptical of the powder’s regenerative power, touting that it would revolutionize regenerative medicine or calling it was quack science.”

“A fingertip is one thing. A thigh, quite another.”

“After losing most of his thigh muscle in a battlefield explosion, one marine was given a second chance when another such miracle powder caused much of his thigh to grow back. It’s not only a wonderful feel-good story, but demonstrating that the same substance can grow back different tissues suggests that we may have only seen a small part of its full regenerative potential.”

Dr. Todd Malan is named as the Chief Cell Therapy Officer at the Okyanos Heart Institute based in the Bahamas. On October 2009, he pioneered the stem cell research utilizing the adipose or fat-derived stem cells to help breast reconstruction. For several years of clinical research, Dr. Todd Malan and his team was able to come up with the first stem cell-based procedure that treats advanced heart diseases using the patient’s own adipose-derived stem cells which are infused directly onto the heart via catheter. Find out more how this technological advancement can help improve the quality of life patients with severe heart diseases.

Thank you for listening. We would appreciate your comments and reviews

In This Episode, You’ll Learn

Dr. Todd Malan being named as the Chief Cell Therapy Officer at the Okyanos Heart Institute

Why they decided to put a stem cell research facility in The Bahamas

The different benefits and abilities of stem cells in our bodies

About a patient who was treated with radiation for tumor along his spine

About the same patient who burned his spine because of radiation and was treated with stem cells

What the safety factors and issues that they are focusing when conducting stem cell procedures

About the new technology they use to treat advanced cardiac diseases by injecting stem cells directly on to the heart via catheter

About the general patient experience and pre-operative procedures they follow

The after care treatments and procedures

How costs for stem cells are individualized based on how stem cells are derived

The importance of clinic’s level of experience, regulatory guidance they follow and how patients are ensured that the stem cells used are their own stem cells and that they are not modified in any way.

The Resources

The Onwards Medical Breakthrough

Mantis shrimps can see cancer, and scientists have now created a camera that does the same

“Scientists from the University of Queensland in Australia have discovered that mantis shrimphave an incredibly useful ability – the marine creatures are able to see a variety of cancers inside our bodies. And they’ve now replicated that ability in a camera that could eventually be put into a smartphone.”

“Mantis shrimp can see cancer, and the activity of our neurons, because they have unique eyes, known as compound eyes. This type of eye is superbly tuned to detect polarised light – a type of light that reflects differently off different types of tissue, including cancerous or healthy tissue.”

Lori Shea is the Founder and CEO of Guatemala Medical Travel which started in 2009. She is an advocate to patients and assures them that they receive the finest medical care in Guatemala. They have spent many years in establishing a professional relationship with their network of educated, skilled and honest doctors and surgeons. Full-medical service and attention are provided to international patients by caring assistants from the initial consultation right through 100% recovery and voyage home which literally makes a patient stress-free. Find out more about the Guatemalan Healthcare and what separates them from other medical tourism companies.

Thank you for listening. We would appreciate your comments and reviews

The Resources

The Onwards Medical Breakthrough

“University of British Columbia, in collaboration with BetaLogics Venture, a division of Janssen Research & Development, LLC, has published a study highlighting a protocol to convert stem cells into insulin-producing cells. The new procedure could be an important step in the fight against Type 1 diabetes.”

“The protocol can turn stem cells into reliable, insulin-producing cells in about six weeks, far quicker than the four months it took using previous methods.”

John Koehn is from Ames, Iowa and in this episode, he shares how his 16-year old brother with Autism, improved his cognitive ability through Stem Cell treatment. Prior to treatments, John’s brother has low cognitive abilities i.e. no basic understanding of what time it is, no basic recognition of how many years there are in a year and has an IQ of 55. Her mother, on the other hand, made some research and started to talk to people in discussion groups and found out about stem cell treatments in Greece.

In 2010, they scheduled an appointment in Greece wherein liposuction was performed prior to extract adipose (fat) tissue for the stem cell treatment. Within a couple of weeks, his younger brother began to manifest promising improvements. He is now able to understand dates and the concept of time and reading a watch began to sink in.

Find out more how his brother’s life has bettered and how they attributed it to stem cell treatments.

Thank you for listening. We would appreciate your comments and reviews

The Resources

The Onwards Medical Breakthrough

Researchers discover key to making new muscles

“Cyclic bursts of a STAT3 inhibitor can replenish muscle stem cells and promote their differentiation into muscle fibers, scientists report. The findings are an important step toward developing and maintaining new muscle to treat muscle diseases.”

Vasilica Baltatineau is tagged as the First Plastic Surgery Consulant in the Middle East. As a consultant, patients come to her and help them by providing information about any procedure that they think they might benefit from and makes sure that these patients are directed towards the best doctors or surgeons that will help them aesthetically. She provides experienced and neutral advice to patients to help them decide which path is ideal for them.

She thoroughly and continuously performs research on doctors who would best attend to the needs of the patients before she vets them out. Find out how Vasilica has helped several patients lessen their costs and time in sorting out the best information and doctors.

Thank you for listening. We would appreciate your comments and reviews

“Half of patients in a trial have safely stopped immunosuppressant medication following a modified blood stem-cell transplant for severe sickle cell disease, according to a study in the July 1 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The trial was conducted at the National Institutes of Health’s Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, by researchers from NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.”